CCAMLR

This paper reports on a 4 day forum for fishers held in New Zealand in 2000, to exchange information and develop practical measures to minimise incidental capture of seabirds in longline fisheries. Participants committed to undertake a number of activities and report back at a second forum that will be held in Hawaii in late 2002.

En este documento se resume el planteamiento de los autores expuesto en cuatro
documentos enviados la reciente reunión del WG-EMM-2001, ante el hallazgo de anticuerpos
contra enfermedades infecciosas en Pinnipedia antárticos, como resultado de las investigaciones
realizadas en el Sitio CEMP Nº2 “Cabo Shirreff e islotes San Telmo”, durante las últimas tres
temporadas de verano. Se discute el resultado del informe de dicha reunión y se argumentan los
puntos discordantes con tales planteamientos, justificando la necesidad de incentivar y enfocar
esfuerzos de investigación en patologías de depredadores tope. Se plantea que no se debe esperar
que ocurra algún evento catastrófico para investigar estos temas, que no son más que otro
componente activo del ecosistema marino antártico. Por lo tanto, se solicita el apoyo del Comité
Científico para con estas investigaciones, ya que su aprobación significaría un gran respaldo para
que se acepte la información que sobre estas materias se presente, como un avance ante el
desconocimiento que sobre esta materia había y como una contribución al conocimiento de
patologías propias de los depredadores tope del ecosistema marino antártico, cuya dinámica y
efectos son aún desconocidos en esas latitudes.

This paper has been prepared by the Secretariat of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in response to a request from CEP-IV for information on actions taken by CCAMLR on marine debris from fishing vessels, especially in relation to compliance with Annex IV of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (CEP-III Final Report, paragraph 19).
A number of measures have been adopted and implemented by CCAMLR to monitor and assess the level of marine debris and its impact on marine living resources in Antarctic waters. Long-term programs have been initiated at a number of sub-Antarctic and Antarctic sites. These programs include surveys of beached marine debris, surveys of fishery-related marine debris associated with colonies of marine mammals and seabirds, ingestion by seabirds of plastic materials and entanglement of marine mammals in fishery-related debris. During recent years surveys of beached marine debris have been conducted in accordance with a standard method. Standard forms have been created for the collection and submission of data from other marine debris studies. All data collected are submitted to the CCAMLR database for analysis. As the number of long-term marine debris programs established by CCAMLR Members is still relatively small, the amount of information collected at present is insufficient to ascertain trends in the accumulation of debris and of its impact on marine animals.
A special conservation measure was adopted by CCAMLR to regulate the use and disposal of plastic packaging bands on fishing vessels. In order to prevent pollution from marine debris in the CCAMLR Convention Area, a large proportion of which appears to originate from fishing vessels, CCAMLR launched an educational campaign aimed at fishermen.
CCAMLR keeps the issue of marine debris under annual review.